Making Languages More Comprehensible

Latin Stories Videos Series: Mīnōtaurus

This video series is inspired by Mike Peto’s straightforward Story Listening videos in Spanish, and Eric Herman’s structured English Class videos, both shared by John Piazza last month in an effort to get ones like these in Latin. Here’s the Minotaur myth retold using 21 unique words. The story is 229 words total in length.

Each story in the series has the 3 videos: Class, Story, and Questions. Use the videos however best you see fit, and report back with any success. Here are some ideas:

Class:– Learn Latin in the context of a story (i.e meaning established in English via subtitles).
– Observe storytelling strategies to model in your own teaching.
– Assign as homework (e.g. flipped-classroom background info prior to class interaction, or for absent students who could use more CI).
– Use as a sub plan; Step 1.

Story:– Listen to adapted Roman myths from ancient authors (e.g. Ovid, Livy, etc.).
– Take a break, and show a “guest” storyteller in class.
– Listen/Watch & Discuss with your class.
– Listen & Draw in class (turn projector off, and just play audio?)
– Project/print the story (Google Doc link found in YouTube video description) to use with your favorite reading activity.
– Assign as homework (having already watched the Class video, or knowing that most students know most of the 21 words).
– Use as sub plan; Step 2.

Questions:
– Check your comprehension.
– Use as resource for students to check their comprehension.
– Use as a sneaky quiz (i.e. not graded, but used to report a score in 0% grading category AND opportunity to provide CI).
– Pause the screen-captured award-wining illustrations for a Story Retell.
– Use as sub plan; Step 3.